I was speaking to a friend the other night and noted that I have had a bit of a writing block when it came to my blog -- what inspires us can vary, what we are passionate about changes over time, and then again there is always the age old question of "Who do we write for?" I have never wanted the site to be a chore, never writing because I felt I was obligated to. I suppose that is one reason why I am fortunate not to have a regular following, then again I can attribute a portion of that downfall to the lack of exposure in Reader (there are some benefits of a WordPress.com site after all) for those of use with self hosted sites (pssk, WordPress open Reader to to all).
When I was taking the Blogging 101 I noticed that dailypost.wordpress.com had a Post a Day section, and something that is a little more my speed, a Post a Week from which to seek some writing inspiration so off I went.
Digging for Roots - In this week’s Weekly Writing Challenge, tell us about what makes you, you.
As … [Read more...]

Stand up and look around you? What do you see? For me, my first impressions of my hectic home office, are clutter and chaos, and hey, that may very well represent many of our lives - both in the obvious and the sublime. But look further, through the chaos and ask yourself the same question? Wait, its hard isn't it?
Life is interesting to say the least. You blink, you may have missed an opportunity, you pause for what seems like a moment, and not only has a few hours past, but days, weeks, months, heck, even a year can race by. Yet life can surprise you -- unexpected and unbelievable moments like reading a Tweet that you won a monster of a Gaming Computer system (see my post here) while in the line at Starbucks and you heart racing for the next twelve hours as your Twitter account erupts with congratulatory most and kudos, or a compliment at just the right moment that make you realize that, yes, there is more to life then this moment. What we expect, rarely materializes, what we … [Read more...]

The world is changing and in many great ways. As mobile devises become more powerful, their functionality has extended beyond simply sending emails, text messages and phone calls (yes, the order was intentional). The latest advance, and you will see this popping up everywhere are what I would like to call "Digital Life Coaches".
Imagine having your dietitian, personal trainer, GPS (in some cases), sleep therapist, and alarm clock with you your 24/7. With devices like Lark's larklife (http://www.lark.com) , or the Nike+ Fuelband (http://www.nike.com/ca/en_ca/lp/nikeplusfuelband) you can. Starting around $125 you get to wear a stylish wristband (how dare we call it a bracelet, as we may offend the occasional man), that digitally monitors many aspects of our lives.
Most of the bands work very similar and are based around an accelerometer and software on your computer, online or your smart phone; here is a quick rundown on the Nike Fuleband and LarkLife.
NIKE+ FUELBAND
The Nike+ Fuelband … [Read more...]

When one buys a computer one often doesn’t take into consideration the fact that you will need other devises for your computer. When you buy a computer you just get the basics, sometimes in order to make the computer fit into your life you’ll need to make a few extra purchases of computer accessories from Dell.
Some computer accessories that you might consider are:
Speakers
A carry case
Mouse
Stand
Heat Shield
An extra battery
Earphones
These things will make it easier for you to use your laptop at its most optimum level. Let’s go over the reasons for these purchases one at a time.
If you are going to use your laptop for entertainment purposes, you should get some speakers. The speakers that come on the laptop are frequently inadequate for listening to music or videos.
You’ll need a carry case for a laptop even if you don’t frequently travel with your computer. If you can put it away after every use, you’ll decrease the amount dust and decrease the opportunities for damage … [Read more...]

How do you know if you have too much debt? Learning about debt can help you determine if you have more than you should. The first step is to learn about and understand debt and just how it works. In this age of buy now pay later, the traps of debt are numerous.
There may be warning signs that you are incurring too much debt or are close to being in financial trouble. These warning signs may include:
Inability to make all of you monthly payments. If you are noticing that every month you are having troubles making all of your payments or are skipping one or more of them you have a serious debt concern and it’s time to take drastic action.
Using credit cards each month immediately following making a payment. If you find that you are using a credit card as soon as you make a payment on it, this is a warning sign that you are living above your means.
Add up all of your debt and determine what portion of your income is going towards it. When you are spending more than 10% of your income … [Read more...]

I wrote last week regarding the difficult decision I had been battling between buying an e-reader or a tablet. As my new "toy" sits on my desk beside me, I think I have made my choice (still a few days to return it) but admittedly, the decision was made not without a little apprehension. I have to give the staff at the local "The Source" and "Staples" some kudos, as they certainly gave me a little bit of wisdom to chew on before I made my final choice.
The Battle
I would have loved for Apple to have offered a small form factor iPad; the existing full size was just not practical for my key purpose of a supped up e-reader. Sorry Apple, you missed out -- give us a 7" version! So the battle was on between three competing 16 GB tablets, the:
Acer Iconia 7" ($329);
BlackBerry PlayBook ($199);
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7-Inch, Wi-Fi) ($249);
Android OS Vs. BlackBerry Tablet OS
Although the Android OS has been in the marketplace since 23 September, 2008 with the launch of the first Android … [Read more...]

The battle is on, do I jump in with both feet and grab a new Android tablet or a Blackberry Playbook to read my e-books? Or do I simplify life and fall to the basics of an e-book reader like Kindle or Kobo?
To set the context, I love my e-books. Even long before Kindle and Kobo where possible, I bought PDF versions of books. The fact that you can use a search functionality to find content is a god send.
Within our house we have the gambit of technology, laptops, desktops, iPod touch (retired iPhone 3Gs), iPhone 4s, and iPad 1 to name a few. With Kindle and Kindle I can access my e-books via my PC reader, my MacBook reader, via the web with Kindle, on my wife's iPad (preferred choice) and my iPhone (small screen but manageable). So why another e-reader you ask?? Well, I am usually stuck reading from my iPhone -
So here is my dilemma. Four technology choices, no perfect solution:
1) Kindle or Kobo e-Reader ($79 to $199)
Unlike devices with LCD screens, e-readers such as Kindle … [Read more...]

I recently had a transaction on my Canadian Credit card from aUSvendor. The original charge was $55.83 USD with a Canadian exchange rate of 1.0164 or $56.74 CDN.
I decided to pay for the charge with my USD Savings Account:
To exchange my USD savings to $56.74 CDN cost me: $59.26 USD
So overall; it cost me $3.43 dollars more based on Banking Policies and practices to pay me original charge of $55 USD with same currency.
Now, $3.43 is not much, I admit, but now add another zero or two to the amount, $550 would have cost me $34 more, $5500, over $340 more just for a matter of computers automatically transferring money between accounts.
Coincidently, today’s exchange rates are:
Country
Currency Name /
Currency Code
Rate Bank Will
Buy From You:
Rate Bank Will
Sell To You:
United States
Dollar (USD)
0.9499
1.0008
… [Read more...]

When it comes to politics in general, I admit I am the furthest from an expert as anyone can. To be brutally honest, within the first weeks of University I ran away from my declared "Poly-sci" major with my tail between my legs and switched to something far less philosophical and much more interesting. Nonetheless, sitting from the side lines as person in sound body and mind; well sort of, it is questionable about the sound body (peers down at his broken leg); you begin to wonder to what degree our Canadian political representatives have a clue.
Since 2004, Canadians have visited the polls on three occasions. In a political system that structures federal elections every four years, having three visits to the polls over the same time period seems dumbfounded. What is characteristically more interesting was the repeat result of the 2006 and 2008 elections, a minority, Conservative, government. This does not speak specifically to the governing party, as the same could be said to be … [Read more...]

The 411 on Me

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A foodie in training, photographer, Starbucks addict, runner, and single parent living outside of Toronto, Ontario. Living with Crohn's Disease and Type 2 Diabetes, life for this Transportation Planner and RPP can be an interesting mix. Here is my story!